RESIDENTS have objected to plans to build traveller pitches at Cledford Hall in Middlewich.

The bid, which would provide temporary accommodation for ten pitches and an amenity block, has been brought forward by Cheshire East Council, and could open up in January next year.

However, Middlewich residents and Moston Parish Council have voiced their opposition to the £2.2 million scheme — citing concerns over its location and neighbouring industrial sites.

“While fully accepting the requirement for a council-owned transit site within Cheshire East, this is the wrong location and could be counter productive to the established integration between the large travelling community who have settled in Middlewich and Moston and the non-travelling population,” the parish council’s letter of objection said. 

It added: “To propose a transit site in this location shows a remarkable lack of understanding and sensitivity of the problems which are faced — and is emphasised by the final point in the planning statement, ‘being easily accessible to the local services, and located close to Middlewich town centre, the proposed Gypsy and Traveller site aims to encourage a greater sense of community, and scope for social integration within the local community’. 

“A site in this location would achieve the very opposite and can't be sustainable, the short term gains by the aforementioned towns [Nantwich, Congleton, Macclesfield, Wilmslow, Crewe and Sandbach] will be heavily out weighed by the long term negative impact on Middlewich, Cledford, and Moston.”

Residents also highlighted ‘health’ worries over the proposed location, with one claiming that those using the site’s health could deteriorate via ‘air quality issues from Ansa’ due to the ‘large number of wagons leaving Ansa and British Salt’.

A design and access statement from the council said: “Transit pitches are permanent sites used to provide only temporary accommodation for their residents. Lengths of stay can vary but are usually set at between 28 days and three months, although practice on transit sites tends to be controlled by the council in respect to the amount of time people are permitted to stay. 

“The requirements for transit sites reflect the fact that they are not intended for use as a permanent base for an individual household.

“The proposed layout of the site has taken into consideration the guidance provided in the Gypsy and Traveller Sites — Good Practice Guide. The proposals are intended to provide convenience for residents, safety for residents, visual and acoustic privacy – both for people living on the site and those living nearby.”

You can view the plans on Cheshire East’s planning portal using reference ‘21/1205C’.